For closing the openings of buildings, garages or the like there are generally used doors which are available in a variety of designs, for example in the form of up-and-over doors, overhead doors, roller doors, wing doors, but also as sectional doors. In sectional doors the door leaf consists of several interconnected panels which each are guided in guide rails via track rollers. These sectional doors are guided from a closed position into an open position in that they are guided along the guide rails under the ceiling, for example of the garage.
For reasons of manufacturing costs, assembly costs and also for optical reasons it actually is desirable to put the door together from as little large panels as possible. However, to be able to pull the track rollers of the door along the lateral guide rails, it is necessary that the width of the succeeding panels is comparatively small, so that the roller pairs can run along in the guide rails without polygons. The wider the individual panels become, the larger becomes the radius of the bent transition region of the guide rails, in order to ensure a uniform run. A comparatively large radius of the transition region of the guide rails in turn leads to a large camber above the opening which is to be closed with the garage door. Sectional doors with large panels hence substantially are suitable for building situations in which above the door opening enough space is present for the arrangement of the guide rails. Especially pre-fabricated garages, in which only a comparatively low camber is provided, in general can however not be provided with sectional doors with large panels, as here no high enough camber is available.
On the other hand it is desirable that even when closing with a door, an exchange of air with the environment is achieved upon request. For this purpose it is known already to use various types of ventilation systems. For example, the uppermost panel can be provided with ventilation slots. Alternatively, the bottommost panel also can be provided with a combination of a sealing and ventilation profile in the region of the closing edge.
Independent of the known solutions, there are also known ventilation systems in which in the completely closed position of the door the uppermost panel is folded away towards the inside by a pivoting movement, in order to provide for an air exchange of the region separated by the door with the environment.
From DE 20 2006 013 676 U1 a solution is known in which the door leaf is transferred into a ventilation position by the fact that the anyway present door drive for moving the door leaf at the same time is utilized for tilting the door leaf into a ventilation position. The door, however, is pivoted into a region of the uppermost freely tiltable panel by the carrier driven by means of the door drive, wherein the entire door is lifted off the ground by a gap. Thus, on the one hand a ventilation gap is obtained in the bottom region and a ventilation gap in the upper panel region. The formation of the gap region at the ground, however, is undesirable, as here vermin, for example rats or mice, can slip through the gap. In addition, after formation of the corresponding gap a burglar also might force open the door more easily by means of a corresponding pry tool. To prevent this from happening, DE 20 2006 013 676 U1; provides a separate locking device which secures the door leaf in an approachable ventilation position.
From DE 20 2008 001 121 another solution is known, in which the uppermost panel of a door leaf consisting of several panels can be tilted without a gap being produced between the ground and a panel close to the ground (bottommost panel). The tilting functionality of the uppermost panel is achieved in that a pair of track rollers connected with the uppermost panel is guided in a separate guide rail. The course of the guide rail disclosed in this document is shown in FIG. 1 which will be discussed in detail below. It can be seen that the guide rail for the uppermost pair of track rollers extends substantially horizontally, then transitions into a downwardly directed bend which at a kink point transitions directly into an upwardly directed bend. For tilting the uppermost panel, the upwardly extending bend of the guide rails, which proceeds from the kink point, is utilized to provide for tilting of the panel.
In the above-described design it is disadvantageous that the speed of movement of the door leaf or the panels must be lowered to zero when the uppermost pair of track rollers reaches the kink point, i.e. the lowest point of the guide rails especially provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers. At this point, the slope of the guide rail provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers changes abruptly, so that the speed of movement of the door or the pair of track rollers is throttled very much upon reaching this kink point or even must be decreased to the value zero or a value close to zero. This requires a particularly accurate sensor system, in order to reliably determine the point of reaching the kink point. For the traversing motor of the door leaf or for the door drive it furthermore is disadvantageous that during a closing or opening operation the motor drive cannot simply start or come to rest, but that at the predetermined point, namely upon reaching the kink point by the uppermost pair of track rollers, the motor drive must be braked deliberately before it can start again. It is clear to the skilled person that this inevitably leads to a shortening of the total service life of the drive, as starting and decelerating the drive belongs to the most wear-intensive states of a drive.
Proceeding from the known prior art, it is the object to develop a generic door such that it provides for designing the drive of the door less robust and nevertheless maintain the tilting functionality. Of course, it should also be ensured that the door touches the ground during the ventilation position.
This object is solved by a door comprising a door leaf which includes several interconnected panels, pairs of track rollers which are connected with one of the several panels, and are designed to guide a respective panel in guide rails, wherein the door comprises an uppermost pair of track rollers, a bottommost pair of track rollers and at least one middle pair of track rollers, and the uppermost pair of track rollers, the bottommost pair of track rollers and the at least one middle pair of track rollers each run in separate guide rails, wherein the guide rails of the uppermost pair of track rollers have a course which in one portion has a trough-like shape.
Accordingly, the door which in particular can be a sectional door comprises a door leaf which includes several interconnected panels, pairs of track rollers which are connected with one of the several panels and which are designed to guide a respective panel in guide rails, wherein the door comprises an uppermost pair of track rollers, a bottommost pair of track rollers and at least one middle pair of track rollers, and the uppermost pair of track rollers, the bottommost pair of track rollers and the at least one middle pair of track rollers each run in separate guide rails. The door according to the present disclosure furthermore is wherein the guide rails of the uppermost pair of track rollers have a course which at one portion has a trough-like shape.
The course of the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers has a trough-like shape, i.e. in comparison to a linear extension has a bulge therefrom. This provides the advantage that tilting of the uppermost panel is possible for ventilating the space to be closed with the door, in that the uppermost pair of track rollers, which is connected with the uppermost panel, is moved into the trough in direction of the trough bottom. There is only triggered a tilting movement of the uppermost panel, so that a pulling movement of the other panels, which would lead to opening of the door, is not effected.
For the drive of the door it also is advantageous that the speed of movement from an open state of the door towards a closed state of the door only must be slowed down at an initial point and at an end point and not as previously in the prior art at a kink point in the guide rails associated to the uppermost pair of track rollers. It is clear to the skilled person that the trough shape has no kink points whatsoever, which would necessitate such a behavior.
It furthermore is advantageous that now there is no need anymore for sensors which effect stopping of the uppermost pair of track rollers at exactly the kink point with high reliability.
In general, the guide rail trough-shaped in its course is better for the drive motor of the door, as there is no slowing down and starting in the kink. The trough-shaped guide rails contain no kink or kink point. In addition, the manufacture of the guide rails provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers is simpler than that of guide rails with a kink point.
According to an embodiment, the course of the guide rails provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers is formed by two linear guide rail elements in its trough-like portion. It furthermore is advantageous when the two linear guide rail elements are arranged to each other such that they form a V-shape. The V-shape then is produced by a very open V, in which the angle between the two legs of the V-shape is greater than 90°, alternatively greater than 120°, or alternatively greater than 135°.
According to another modification the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers and/or the bottommost pair of track rollers substantially consist of a plurality of interconnected linear guide rail elements, wherein at their ends protruding from each other the two linear guide rail elements forming the trough-like portion maybe be connected with further guide rail elements which are arranged on a common straight line. Hence, there is a guide rail for the uppermost pair of track rollers which substantially is linear and only is interrupted by the guide rail elements producing a V-shape.
According to another optional embodiment of the present disclosure the course of the guide rails provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers corresponds to a differentiable function in its trough-like portion, which may have an arc-shaped, a wave-shaped or a pan-shaped shape.
Again, this takes account of the fact that the inventive guide rail for the uppermost pair of track rollers has no kink point. A differentiable function is characterized by the fact that the derivative is unambiguous at each of its positions, i.e. has no peaks or kinks. The feature according to which the path of movement of the uppermost pair of track rollers through the guide rails corresponds to a differentiable function or the guide rails provide a path of movement which corresponds to a differentiable function, ensures that the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers have no kink in their path of movement.
In addition it also is possible that the uppermost pair of track rollers can be located in the trough-like part of the associated guide rails, when the bottommost pair of track rollers has reached its end position, and the door is in a completely closed position when the uppermost pair of track rollers has gone through the trough-like part of the guide rails. Proceeding from an open state of the door, the uppermost pair of track rollers hence moves into the trough, goes through the trough valley and leaves the trough, in order to reach a completely closed state of the door. Moving back the uppermost pair of track rollers from a state of the closed door leads to tilting of the uppermost panel when the uppermost pair of track rollers moves in direction of the trough valley. For reaching a tilt position it is of subordinate importance whether or not the uppermost pair of track rollers stops exactly in the lowest point of the trough of the guide rails.
According to another modification of the present disclosure the convex side of the trough-like portion of the course of the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers is aligned downwards and/or the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers are aligned substantially horizontally.
The guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers have a linear portion which transitions into the trough-like portion. The trough-like portion thereby falls out of the linear portion and then approximately again leads up to the height of the linear portion after having gone through the trough valley. The guide rail formed in this way substantially is arranged horizontally, wherein the horizontal orientation can be defined with reference to the linear portion. The trough is oriented such that as seen from the linear portion the convex part is oriented downwards, i.e. towards the bottom.
According to an embodiment, the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers are arranged such that in a closed state of the door the end of a guide rail closer to the trough-like part is closer to the panels than the end of the guide rail is to the trough-like part. It thereby is expressed that in a closed state the trough-like part of the guide rails is arranged close to the panels, so that the trough-like part also can effect the tilting function of the uppermost panel.
According to another optional development of the present disclosure the course of the respective guide rails with its trough-like shape each corresponds to a wave-like or pan-like course, which optionally declines into a bend from a linear portion, thereby forms a first pan edge, with a further bend produces the pan bottom and with a last bend produces the second pan edge. Optionally, at the end of the second pan edge the level of the linear portion again is reached in essence, which linear portion transitions into the first pan edge.
Optionally, the uppermost pair of track rollers moves in separate guide rails along the entire path of movement during opening or closing of the door. The guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers accordingly are available exclusively for this pair of track rollers and are not shared by another pair of track rollers, for example a middle pair of track rollers or the bottommost pair of track rollers.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure the guide rails for the at least one middle pair of track rollers comprise a substantially vertical portion and a substantially horizontal portion, which each are connected with each other by an arc-shaped guide rail portion.
It also is possible that the guide rails at least partly consist of sheet-metal sections. Guide rails which at least partly consist of sheet-metal sections are particularly easy to manufacture and very robust.
Optionally, however, the guide rails, in particular the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers consist of a molded plastic part in their bent region.
Furthermore, the present disclosure comprises a door according to any of the embodiments described above, which consists of two or more, in particular three or four panels.
According to another optional modification of the present disclosure the door leaf can be transferred from a completely open into a closed position by means of a door drive. Alternatively, however, the door leaf also can manually be transferable from a completely open into a closed position, which for example is advantageous in the case of a defective motor.
The present disclosure also relates to a door drive for a door according to any of the above-described embodiments for moving a door leaf from a completely open into a closed position and vice versa, comprising a drive motor, a guiding device, a carrier movable by the drive motor along the guiding device, which carrier is connected with the door leaf, and a controller, wherein the drive is wherein on opening of the door from the completely closed state at least one ventilation position initially can be moved to by the controller in that the uppermost panel is tilted, the uppermost pair of track rollers hence is located in the trough-like part of the associated guide rails.
Optionally, different ventilation positions are adjustable by tipping the uppermost panel into different tilt angles.
Further advantages and features of the present disclosure will become apparent in connection with the description of the drawings listed below. The figures are drawn to scale, although other relative dimensions may be used, if desired.